Benintendi hits two three-run homers as Red Sox roll

Behind a rejuvenated Andrew Benintendi, Boston bounced back from a late-inning collapse on Friday to pummel New York on Saturday, 10-5.

By Tim Britton, Providence Journal

Success in baseball derives from limiting slumps.

The season is long, players are apt to say, and the pathway to production involves prolonging peaks and truncating valleys. The Red Sox showed their resolve in that regard on Saturday.

Behind a rejuvenated Andrew Benintendi, Boston bounced back from a late-inning collapse on Friday to pummel New York on Saturday, 10-5.

Friday’s was the kind of loss with the potential to linger – the inverse to the dramatic win that had propelled an eight-game winning streak for the Red Sox a week earlier against Cleveland. Much as the key to that winning streak was extending the positive momentum from a come-from-behind last-at-bat victory, the key Saturday was to halt any negative momentum emerging from a come-from-ahead last-at-bat loss.

Benintendi was the main reason why Boston beat back inertia on Saturday. The left fielder himself is recently familiar with halting slumps. Mired in his second legitimate slump of the season at the end of July, Benintendi found himself on the bench for consecutive games– given time by manager John Farrell to refresh himself and rediscover his timing.

It appears that time down has worked.

With a pair of three-run homers on Saturday, Benintendi delivered the two keynote blasts in a 10-run outpouring against Luis Severino, who had entered the day as arguably the hottest pitcher in the American League. Benintendi’s line drive to right on a 1-1 98 mph fastball down in zone broke a 2-2 tie in the third inning and capped a five-run frame.

In the fifth, just after Drew Pomeranz had limited a potential big New York inning to one run, Benintendi sparked another five-run frame with a long drive to right-center on a 1-0 slider on the inner half. It put the game on ice rather early by giving Boston an 8-3 advantage.

Since sitting down, Benintendi is 15 for 31 with four homers, 11 RBIs and five stolen bases. That’s after he had 13 hits, no homers, no steals and four RBIs over a 22-game stretch in the final four weeks of July.

His six RBIs tied a career-high.

Mookie Betts and Rafael Devers also had two hits and two RBIs.

The bountiful offense made the day easier for Pomeranz, who picked up his career-best 12th win on the season. Pomeranz settled in after yielding a first-inning two-run shot to Gary Sanchez, allowing only three runs over 6 innings. Since May 20, Pomeranz owns a 2.70 ERA – better even than the 2.82 Chris Sale has compiled in that span.